This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money searching for and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource is discovered, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource. Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly through which the resource is extracted. These wellhead assemblies may include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, valves, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling or extraction operations.
More particularly, wellhead assemblies typically include and connect to pressure-control equipment, such as a blowout preventer, to help control the flow of fluid (e.g., oil or natural gas) from a well. As will be appreciated, uncontrolled releases of oil or gas from a well via the wellhead assembly (also referred to as a blowout) are undesirable. Further, components and equipment in use with and coupled to the wellhead assembly must be robust, otherwise oil or gas may be unintentionally released through these other components. As such, as there are numerous manufacturers for these components and equipment, in addition to the wellhead assemblies and blowout preventers themselves, measures must be taken to ensure that all of the equipment in use and the connections between the equipment are robust and field ready.